Ledisi On Why She Celebrates Black History Month Year-Round

The GRAMMY nominee lets us in on why celebrating the culture of African-Americans is so important

Renée Fabian

GRAMMYs

Feb 1, 2018 - 5:27 pm

Feb. 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month, a time to celebrate the many significant — and often overlooked — contributions that African-Americans have made to the fabric of our country, including in the arts.

We caught up with the GRAMMY-nominated R&B singer/songwriter Ledisi at the Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter's GRAMMY Nominees Reception to find out why it's so important to continue celebrating African-Americans in our country, and around the world.

"I celebrate being black every single day. Every accomplishment I make is an honor of my ancestry, my parents, my walk, and my journey given to me in life," said Ledisi. "I think it's very important to celebrate my culture because we're in everything. We're in the makeup of everyone's lives whether they know it or not."

So this February, and all year long, let's celebrate the innumerable ways African-Americans enrich our culture.

"I love being black, I love being beautiful and I love my culture," she added. "We have to keep forwarding that."

The event, which was held at Fig & Olive restaurant in West Hollywood, Calif., was attended by many GRAMMY nominees to celebrate their latest GRAMMY accomplishments.

Diane Warren, who is nominated this year as a songwriter for Common and Andra Day's "Stand Up For Something," was in attendance. Also out to celebrate was R&B singer/songwriter Ledisi, who is up for Best R&B Performance ("High"), Best Traditional R&B Performance ("All The Way") and Best R&B Album (Let Love Rule). Lisa Loeb, who is nominated for Best Children's Album for Feel What U Feel, and La La Land composer Justin Hurwitz, who is nominated for three GRAMMYs, also made appearances.

2018 GRAMMYs: Body Count, India.Arie To Perform At Premiere Ceremony

Each year, the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony kicks off Music's Biggest Night by recognizing GRAMMY winners in more than 70 categories, complete with outstanding performances. We now have all the exciting details on the 2018 installment of the annual event.

Watch Spike Lee's Star-Studded 'NY Stories' Film

This year's Premiere Ceremony will take place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, preceding the 60th GRAMMY Awards telecast. Singer, composer and instrumentalist Paul Shaffer will host the ceremony and will serve as musical director while his World's Most Dangerous Band will serve as the house band.

"Dear Evan Hansen" Producers On Winning A GRAMMY In New York

The creatives behind the hit musical detail their path from the idea stage to Broadway to Music's Biggest Night

Renée Fabian

GRAMMYs

Feb 2, 2018 - 12:00 pm

If you haven't seen "Dear Evan Hansen," given the show's win at the 60th GRAMMY Awards in New York, now is the perfect time to look into checking out the hit Broadway musical.

"Dear Evan Hansen" One-On-One: 2018 GRAMMYs

Written by composers/lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and produced by orchestrater Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Pasek, and Paul, "Dear Evan Hansen" explores the struggle of social anxiety.

"It's about a young man who feels incredibly isolated and alone in his world," producer Pasek explained backstage at the 60th GRAMMYs. "And through a series of events he is believed to have been the best friend of a kid who just passed away and he basically [helps] a grieving family make them think that he was actually best friends with their son who has recently been deceased. His whole life changes as a result and the question is whether or not he should come clean and how his life changes because of this lie."

"Dear Evan Hansen" opened on Broadway in 2016 following a premiere at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in 2015. For the creators of the show, getting the musical from the conceptual stage all the way to Broadway was a collaborative process.

"The songs are created along with the rest of the show, so we really worked in tandem with our book writer Steven Levenson on this project. We developed these characters and this storyline all together. Then Michael Greif our director," said Paul. "We sit in a room for a long time and come up with it all together. We bring in our music team, Alex Lacamorie and the rest of them. It's an amazing sort of journey where you keep picking up more incredible, wonderful people all along the way as you create this show from scratch and then get it up, workshopped, up on its feet and finally, eventually, thankfully on Broadway."

"Dear Evan Hansen" has earned critical acclaim since its opening. The show took home six Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 2017, and Ben Platt's role as the lead garnered him a Best Performance by an Actor Tony Award. Now the creators and Platt have added a GRAMMY to the list of the musical's accolades, having earned the GRAMMY for Best Musical Theater Album this year.

Pasek and Paul couldn't wait to share their GRAMMY success with the rest of the cast and crew of the show, especially because Music's Biggest Night was celebrated right in the musical's hometown.

"It is really cool that our show is playing just up the street and then we get to celebrate this with our whole cast," Pasek said. "They're just finishing a matinee performance right now so I think they're going to come down and find out they're all GRAMMY winners at the end of it, which is a very, very cool thing. And to have it be in New York and to celebrate that energy that Broadway's so vital in, it's a very exciting thing for us."

Residente On The Process Of Recording His GRAMMY-Winning Album

The GRAMMY winner details the meticulous process he used to create his self-titled award-winning solo album

Renée Fabian

GRAMMYs

Feb 1, 2018 - 12:30 pm

He's earned three previous career GRAMMYs as a member of Calle 13 — and a record-setting 24 Latin GRAMMYs — but Residente earned his first solo GRAMMY win at the 60th GRAMMY Awards.

Residente's 2018 GRAMMYs One-On-One Interview

The Puerto Rican rapper earned a GRAMMY nomination for his 2017 self-titled debut solo album. With 13 tracks, including "Guerra," "Apocalíptico," "El Futuro Es Nuestro," and "Una Leyenda China," the album was inspired by a DNA test that showed Residente's heritage spanned 10 different countries. He set out to musically discover his heritage in the most authentic way.

"It took me two years to make the album," Residente told Ted Stryker backstage at the 60th GRAMMYs. "I traveled [to] 11 countries to make music. I went to Ghana and Siberia and Serbia and … China, Puerto Rico. … I needed voices from Africa and I went to Northern Ghana … to get those voices instead of making a sample or recording in New York."

The meticulous work resulted in an album, a Netflix documentary and a book of the same title to chronicle Residente's journey of self-discovery. And, the work paid off in the form of a GRAMMY win for Best Latin Rock, Urban Or Alternative Album, whtop-sellingcated to other artists like himself out there in pursuit of true art.

Watch: Residente Wins Best Latin Urban Album

"It's sad to see how the music industry is becoming numbers," said Residente. "That has to change. I'm dedicating this to people who make real music because they really love it and they don't care about YouTube views, followers, Spotify spins, top-selling records, Top 20 on the radio. This is for all these people that make art and they love it."

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